{"id":11359,"date":"2026-11-02T07:47:25","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T07:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/?p=11359"},"modified":"2026-11-02T07:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T07:47:25","slug":"mg-alba-scots-trad-music-awards-2026-livingston-caledonia-pipe-band-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/mg-alba-scots-trad-music-awards-2026-livingston-caledonia-pipe-band-2\/","title":{"rendered":"MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2026: Livingston Caledonia Pipe Band"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Congratulations to Livingston Caledonia Pipe Band<\/strong> who has \/ have been nominated in Scottish Pipe Band of the Year sponged by National Piping Centre in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2026. Vote for Livingston Caledonia Pipe Band now!<\/a><\/strong> It’s going to be another great night at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards on Saturday 5th December in Paisley Arena, Lagoon Centre. Why not join us for a brilliant night of music and awards. Buy a ticket here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We asked Sarah of Livingston Caledonia Pipe Band<\/strong> the following questions.<\/p>\n

Tell us about yourself<\/strong>
\nFounded in 2023, Livingston Caledonia are a relative newcomer to the pipe band competition curcuit but that hasnt stopped us making an impact. <\/p>\n

Based in West Lothian, Livingston Caledonia is driven by a commitment to musical excellence, collective discipline and the enduring power of piping and drumming. Its ambition is reflected in its performances, but its achievements are made possible by something less easily measured: the time, dedication, preparation and shared belief of the musicians who stand together under its banner and we do it all supporting each other and creating a family that will endure the test of time. <\/p>\n

The 2026 season offered compelling evidence of our ambition. Livingston Caledonia secured second place at the Scottish Pipe Band Championships, third at the European Pipe Band Championships and fourth place in Grade 3A at the World Pipe Band Championships. At the Worlds, the band also earned the Grade 3A drum corps award, notable recognition for a band thats only been together for 3 years. These results demonstrate a band capable of competing strongly on major stages while continuing to develop its identity and performance. Our successes this season saw the band upgraded from Grade 3A to Grade 2. Pushing the band harder and further than before.<\/p>\n

Pipe band music demands more than individual talent. It requires listening, trust, resilience and a shared understanding of how every musical part contributes to the whole. That collective spirit is central to what makes the tradition so powerful, and it is the ideal through which to tell Livingston Caledonia's story, we are a band and we want to be successful but at the heart of it its much deeper for us. A vast range of personalities, experience, age and backgrounds come together to play music we love, with people we love and thats something truly special. And that heart is what sets us apart from most other bands. The community and family element is key. <\/p>\n

Scottish Pipe Band of the Year should recognise not only a band's results, but also the quality of its contribution to Scotland's living musical culture. Livingston Caledonia brings together competitive ambition, the pursuit of excellence and a commitment to sustaining piping and drumming in its community and doing it all while having fun together. <\/p>\n

Livingston Caledonia is a band with momentum, musical purpose and a future still being written. Recognition at the Scots Trad Music Awards would celebrate the musicians who have brought it this far and the promise of what they can achieve together in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

Any particular career highlights?<\/strong>
\nAs previously mentioned we had an exceptional year this year. The highlights are of course the prizes we won but also the new band members we welcomed. The opportunities we've been given like our open practice at the piping centre as part of Piping Live and culminating with the nomination for this award. <\/p>\n

Prizes the band has acheived this year include;
\nChampion of Champion Drum Corps Grade 3A
\nWorld Champion Drum Corps Grade 3A
\nWorld Championships – 4th Place
\nEuropean Championships – 3rd Place
\nScottish Championships – 2nd Place
\nBritish Championships – 3rd Place
\nDollar Grade 3A – 1st Place
\nBridge of Allan 3A – 1st Place
\nBridge of Allan Grade 2 – 3rd Place <\/p>\n

After never even qualifying for the finals at the world championships in previous years to go on and win 4th place was definitely the highlight of the year for the band.<\/p>\n

What are your plans for the future?<\/strong>
\nAs we have been upgraded this year to the higher Grade 2, we have had to recruit more players so this year will really be a bedding in year. We have longer and more challenging musical sets to learn as well as welcoming our new leading drummer Rab McCutcheon into the fold its definitely going to be a winter for hard work and embracing the challenge of Grade 2. We are actively looking for a sponsor to try and alleviate some of the financial strain that inevitably comes with running a pipeband with over 40 members in it so the winter will be spent in the practice hall, fine tuning, regrouping and coming together to do what we love and hope that shines through on the park next year.<\/p>\n

Livingston Caledonia Pipe Band Social Media<\/strong>
\nWebsite: <\/a>
\nFacebook: @livingstoncaledoniapipeband
\nInstagram: @livingstoncaledoniapipeband<\/p>\n

TikTok: @livi.cal<\/p>\n

Listen to music: http:\/\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2026 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards are on the 5th December 2026 in Paisley Arena, Lagoon Centre! You will be able to watch it live in person (buy a ticket here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Hosted by Scottish personalities Alistair Heather and Mary Ann Kennedy, the night will welcome live performances from some of the brightest lights on the thriving trad scene today including Valtos, Gnoss, Sian, F\u00e8is Ph\u00e0islig, Spodo Komodo and BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Rachel Groves and many more!<\/p>\n

If you would like to support Hands Up for Trad in their work with Scottish trad music and musicians why not become a friend of Hands Up for Trad<\/a><\/strong>. In addition to our high profile events like the Scots Trad Music Awards, we also deliver a less well known, education programme for young people from 8yrs right through to young adults at the start of their careers. Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congratulations to Livingston Caledonia Pipe Band who has \/ have been nominated in Scottish Pipe Band of the Year sponged by National Piping Centre in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2026. Vote for Livingston Caledonia Pipe Band now! It’s going to be another great night at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nominee-2026","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/files\/2026\/10\/Logo1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11359"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11361,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11359\/revisions\/11361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotstradmusicawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}